The fight was over in less than three seconds.


    One of the guards still sat at his table, spoon in hand, having just swallowed a bite of food. He stared at me, wide-eyed.


    The rest? They dropped their weapons. Beside me, John was swallowing hard, but he kept his sword at the ready, gripping it tightly. I had to give him credit—he had stood his ground and not run away.


    I turned toward Ju. She was crouched beside the fallen woman, checking her condition.


    “She’s fine,” Ju announced. “Just knocked unconscious.”


    She shot a glare at the guard who had been manhandling the woman. He stepped backward instantly, hands raised in a placating gesture, his face pale.


    There was no more fighting after that—just a lot of talking.


    In the end, we discovered that seventy-four former peasants from my domain had been captured and were now held as slaves in this caravan.


    Most of them were stunned to see me. Some even suspected that I had orchestrated their capture, which was frustrating but understandable given their circumstances. The majority, however, thanked us with tears in their eyes.


    Beyond them, there were eleven other slaves, unrelated to my domain. Their owner was dead, and I had no idea what to do with them now.


    It took hours of discussions with the peasants to piece together what had happened.


    Someone had been spreading lies—promising them better lives in other domains, or that they could even change their status by moving to the cities.


    At the same time, fearmongering rumors had spread about the orcs in my domain—stories of horrors they had committed and even worse things they were planning. Afraid of what was to come, many fled, hoping for a chance at something better. But the moment they took to the roads, their caravans were ambushed, and they were thrown into chains.


    This wasn’t just a case of a few unlucky travelers. This had been deliberate.


    According to Ju, more than five hundred peasants had already left the domain since we granted them freedom.


    What had happened to most of them?


    That was still unclear.


    A crowd had gathered around us, murmuring and shifting uneasily as the guards protested.


    They insisted they had been recently hired to protect the caravan and knew nothing about how the slaves had ended up there. That was probably true for most of them—and likely the reason why they had hesitated to attack us earlier.


    Some among the crowd wanted to lynch the guards, shouting for justice, while others spoke in their defense, arguing that they were just doing a job.


    In the chaos, a few guards managed to slip away, likely aided by people in the crowd. The situation teetered on the edge of explosive so I made a quick decision—I wouldn’t bind the remaining guards, especially after confirming that they hadn’t been the ones who had captured the peasants.


    After this, several peasants hesitantly approached me, asking if they could return to the domain. It seemed they had experienced enough of this freedom and wanted to go back.


    After discussing it with Julietta, we decided to send a message to Alice, asking her to come with some of our guards to escort those who wished to return. For those who still wanted to leave, Alice could redo their papers to ensure they had the proper documentation.


    That left the slaves—and the question of what to do with them.


    Three of them were women, likely used by the slave master as house personnel, responsible for cleaning and cooking.


    Another was a pretty half-elf, who had almost certainly been used as his personal whore.


    The rest were men—three of whom were criminals, recently purchased at an auction. Another was a half-orc, also bought at the same auction, and also labeled a criminal.


    And then there was the last one—an eunuch, who seemed to have been the slave master’s confidant… and perhaps more.


    He was the only one not in chains.


    As it was getting late and stomachs began to grumble, we ordered food for everyone.


    I invited John to eat with us—after all, the least I could do was offer him a meal for standing by our side. As for the slaves, this was likely the first proper meal they’d had since some time.


    While I was mulling over who could have orchestrated the kidnapping of the peasants, Ju turned on me with a pointed glare.


    “Maybe we’d know more if that merchant wasn’t completely dead,” she chided. “You know, just a little bit incapacitated would have been enough! But no, there’s nothing left of him. Not even a shoe survived. Forget about his rings, which could have held a fortune…”


    I sighed and shrugged. “Yeah, yeah…”


    She wasn’t wrong. Not only had my Death Bolt vaporized him entirely, but there wasn’t even enough left for me to raise him as a ghoul. Maybe… just maybe, that had been a bit of an overkill.


    Before Ju could continue her lecture, a lieutenant approached, saving me from further scolding.


    Apparently, while we were technically on the lands of Viscount of Treves, the main road fell under royal jurisdiction—and someone had reported the fight at the relay inn to the army.


    “Lady Lores of Orcmound, I presume?”


    The officer’s gaze settled on me.


    Well, since I had introduced myself under that name after the fight—and neither Ju nor John fit the bill—it had to be me.


    I nodded.


    “Lieutenant Horvath, at your service, my lady,” he said, offering a slight bow.


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    He paused, clearly expecting introductions. So, I gestured toward Ju.


    “Julietta Trachenorma, my company lady—and John… ahm… warrior.”


    Then, turning back to him, I added, “I assume this isn’t a social call?”


    “Indeed not, my lady,” he replied with a polite nod. “I was called to judge the incident.”


    He let the words hang in the air for a few moments before continuing.


    “It has been clearly established that you were within your rights to inquire about the status of the slaves, given that many of them were confirmed to be former peasants from your domain. Likewise, you were justified in defending yourself against the actions of Merchant Tcherour.”


    I nodded. So far, so good.


    Lieutenant Horvath continued,


    “As the merchant died as a result of the fighting while acting as the aggressor, you are granted his possessions as reparations.


    As for his former guards, they will be separately judged by my commander. I must ask—do you have any further requests against them, or do you contest my ruling?”


    I shrugged.


    “So… does this mean I have to take care of the slaves now?”


    “Yes, indeed, my lady,” he confirmed with a nod. “Slave purchase is forbidden in the kingdom, but ownership can be inherited. In this case, it is treated as an inheritance.


    You have three options—you may hand them over to our unit, take them with you, or free them.


    However, I must inform you that several of them are convicted criminals. If you free them, you will be legally responsible for their actions for one year—but I am sure you are aware of this.”


    “Anything else I can do for you, my lady?”


    I shook my head, still trying to process the fact that I would be held responsible for any freed slave’s actions.


    “If there’s nothing else, then I will return to my unit,” Lieutenant Horvath said with a nod. “Once the verdict is confirmed by my commander, I will have a copy sent to your domain.”


    He turned to leave, but Julietta stopped him.


    “One question, Lieutenant,” she said. “I heard a rumor that Lady Lores’ domain does not welcome traders. Do you know anything about this?”


    He nodded. “Yes. Isn’t that true, Lady Lores?” he asked, turning toward me.


    I frowned and shook my head.


    “No. We’ve actually been wondering why no merchants have come to us lately.”


    Horvath shrugged. “It was likely circulated through commercial channels. Have there been any incidents on the roads in your territory?”


    I shook my head again. “The roads in my domain are secure. There have been no attacks on merchants there.”


    He tilted his head thoughtfully.


    “The peasants were attacked, so this means there is bandit activity in the area. That alone could have scared off the merchants. I’ll report this to my captain, but you should know, my lady—the royal road ends here, at this inn.


    Beyond this point, the road falls under local lords’ jurisdiction. You may want to contact them directly.


    However, if the issue persists, the governor may decide to send the army.”


    I snorted.


    “A certain Captain Schwarzkopf, leading two battalions of His Majesty’s soldiers, was just at the border of my domain not long ago. And yet there are bandits on that road?”


    Horvath shrugged.


    “I wouldn’t know, my lady. Maybe he was sent to clear the forest of bandits, but it’s always the same—when the army arrives, they scatter. When the army leaves, they return.


    That’s why we are stationed on our part of the road—there are no bandits where we patrol. But ultimately, keeping the roads clear is the duty of the local lord.”


    I sighed. It wasn’t his fault, after all.


    I’d have to check with this Viscount of Treves myself.


    “Thank you, Lieutenant,” I said.


    “It’s been my pleasure, ladies, gentleman,” he said with a polite salute before taking his leave.


    As soon as he was gone, I turned to Julietta, ready to discuss what to do with the slaves—


    But then John’s voice interrupted, stammering.


    “Y-You… you… you… are… are… are… are—”


    He was staring at Julietta, eyes wide.


    I rolled my eyes. Great. Someone knows the name Trachenorma.


    “Yes, she’s a princess,” I confirmed, mildly annoyed.


    It was honestly frustrating that this seemed to shock him more than finding out that I was Lores of Orcmound.


    Then again… I supposed her title was higher.


    “And… and… and…” John stammered again—this time, looking at me.


    I chuckled. Ah, now it’s my turn.


    “You had to have realized by now that I am the baron?” I teased.


    “A… a… apologies, my ladies…” He swallowed hard. “I thought you were important, but I didn’t realize…”


    He suddenly stood up, looking like he was about to bolt. Then, after a deep breath, he bowed stiffly.


    “My ladies, I’m just a poor peasant’s son with a bit of warrior talent. I joined the army a couple of years ago. I didn’t mean to be insolent by sitting at your table—I should take my leave.”


    I shrugged and gestured for him to sit back down.


    “Oh, come on, John. Finish your food. Besides, you can still call me Lores.”


    Considering the matter settled, I turned toward Ju.


    “Now, the question is—what do I do with the slaves?”


    She shrugged. “I think it’s best to postpone the decision until we return. We should send them to the domain with Alice and decide there.”


    Then her expression darkened slightly.


    “Besides… Selena, the half-elf, has syphades. She’s in the final stages, and she needs strong medicine. Hopefully, we can find the right treatment in Dolsa, Fiona’s town.”


    I blinked.


    Syphades? That was a sexually transmitted disease, somewhat similar to syphilis.


    “But… she looked healthy?” I asked, still processing. “Are you sure? Why would that idiot let her carry the sickness?”


    Ju shrugged, arching a brow—clearly not even dignifying my are you sure? with a response.


    “You should know that syphades doesn’t just make people sick—it increases sexual desire while also enhancing their physical appearance. That’s how it spreads so easily—the parasite controls the host.”


    Her expression darkened. “The damn merchant probably wanted her like this and just treated himself to avoid infection.”


    I sighed. “Great.”


    “In this stage, treatment will be expensive,” Ju continued. “The real question is whether it’s still curable.”


    I rubbed my temples.


    “Why does every problem come with a whole string of new problems? Every time we fix one thing, three more show up.”


    Ju just shrugged. “This one’s not that bad—just some gold you’ll have to cough up.


    We just need to make sure we don’t get an epidemic among our men. She does look ravishing, and at this stage… well, she’s probably struggling to control herself.”